Headlight replacement - 2010 Malibu. Older vehicles are a breeze compared to the newer ones.

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

We have all done a headlight replacement at some point. Older vehicles are a breeze compared to the newer ones. Tonight when I got home, my daughter asked me to replace one on her 2010 Malibu. It is a pain in the you know what. 2 hours and a google/you tube , a hand full of bolts and screws and those stupid plastic push pins and it’s done. I think all vehicle engineers need to replace every part. They sure would change the way the design stuff. 

[3macboys]

On our 2008 Buick Enclave we had to remove the wheel and inner fender to change the bulbs.  On a co-workers Chev Equinox it was the entire grille that came out, and yet GM had it figured out on the around 2000 Chev P/U's - pull up two pins and the headlight popped out.  The last Crown Vic's were similar, though it took a few changes to figure out the simple way!

[plymouthcranbrook]

I changed one on my Chevy Traverse a year ago by turning the front wheel all the way in and pulling off part of the inner fender well to reach in and R&R the bulb..when the other side burned out in Feb. I was recovering from surgery and could not do it myself. Had to go to the shop and they would only do it the approved way. Disassemble the front end and then change the bulb and replace everything. $130.00. Plus the bulb.  I can only imagine the excitement waiting for car owners of the future. 

[Frank DuVal]

1 hour ago, 3macboys said:

and yet GM had it figured out on the around 2000 Chev P/U's - pull up two pins and the headlight popped out. 

YES! So easy. 👍   The Park Avenues are not bad either, unless the bolts are rusty. They have thumb screws so it was a no tool job for the first 10 years, but at least there are Torx holes in them so tools do fit for rusty ones. Pull two screws and it is in your hand. Other cars I have worked hours on to change the bulbs....🤬

[Joe Cocuzza]

Also, besides being a real chore to replace the new ones they seem to burn out frequently - like 3-4 times a year. Especially if you do not use gloves while installing them. If you get the oil from your fingers/hands on the new ones that creates a "hot" spot and shortens the bulbs life considerably

I have some old(er) headlights (sealed beams) that are 20/30/40++ years old and they still work

Maybe those engineers Mike Hubbie Stearns spoke about really do know what they are doing. Maybe they are in cahoots with the dealers/retailers to design something that is a royal pain to replace (when it shouldn't be) and doesn't last as long as it should/could.

That is a win/win situation for the dealers/retailers.

 

I,too, had a Honda Fit and had to peel back the cheap, plastic inner fenders to get to the bulbs. And that wire clip and rubber seal were a bear to get back on. Had to do it blind - only by "feel" - while tearing up my forearm in the process.

[Andy J]

I had an '09 Malibu,a few Youtube videos I watched claimed it was a 3 hour job to change a headlight bulb.I'm a fair mechanic and it took me 1 1/3 hours to do the job.Had to take the entire front header and valence off.I got to the bulb and it wasn't burned out,it was the stupid connections that were corroded.

 

I think cars are designed like this to discourage owners from working on them themselves.They want you to take it to the dealer to have it fixed.At that time labor would have been $345 for that 3 hour job,according to the flat rate manual.No thanks.

 

I believe a fellow should be a dealership mechanic for 3 years before he can become an automotive engineer.Then he would use a little common sense before designing some of this crap they come up with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2022 by Andy J (see edit history)

[Steve Moskowitz]

10 minutes ago, Joe Cocuzza said:

 Maybe they are in cahoots with the dealers/retailers to design something that is a royal pain to replace (when it shouldn't be) and doesn't last as long as it should/could.

I hope that is tongue and cheek as that simply never has happened nor never will.  No dealer service department likes working on stuff that is a pain or should be less complicated.  The number of times engineers and the factory are cursed in a service department is legendary.  I came right out of a service department when I went to work for Olds and one of the first things I wanted to see is how in the heck they came up with the flat rate times!  After 30 plus years of working at my store and attending meetings complaining about the lack of concern for replacement parts and servicing items I gave up.  Yes, in my day GM had service engineers who were suppose to look at things like that but it was always trumped by the designers, manufacturing engineers, and others.  The plight of the technician always has seemed as an after thought.  Neither myself in the day or any of my technicians at my dealership enjoyed doing a job that we knew was a pain in the backside and should have been simpler.  Engineers consult with the dealers...does not happen.

[Bhigdog]

I would imagine the manufacturing engineers are far more concerned with assembly efficiency and cost control than ease of repair. If you think about it, that would produce the lowest overall cost of ownership..............Bob

[TAKerry]

I always imagined this scenario, Now that the car is assembled 'how do we get to that part?'

 

I had a friend with a Caddy sedan. It was a new car but this was about 5 or 6 years ago. He was telling me that he had to take half of the front end apart to change the headlight. I thought he was B.S.ing me. 

 

I havent had to change one on my current F150 but the '06 model is pretty easy to get to. Trying to figure out how to get the spare tire down is another issue!!

 

Steve, Years ago I had 1996 Z 28 Camaro.  I received a factory recall for the O2 sensor. Took it to the dealer where they said it would take a half hour. 2 days later they were still fighting with it. I dont remember the details but it seems that one of the parts they had to take off to access resulted in a broken bolt, and they could not get the sensor out. At that point they really tried to upsell me with oil change, new brakes etc. I declined and said I just wanted the recall stuff done. They got mad at me at that point. I know they were losing their ### on the job, but.................

[kuhner]

I wonder about those fancy LED running lights around the headlight, or those LED tail lights. Do you replace the whole housing?

[Matt Harwood]

What changing a headlight bulb on a Cadillac CTS looks like:

 

[SC38dls]

The Volvo SUV’s are easy. Pull two pins and the light assembly comes out so it’s easy to reach the bulbs to change. Now the Mercedes is a different story. 
dave s 

[JACK M]

I see some newer cars that have an almost neon loop looking around the head and tail lights. I suspect that they are LED based, but yes, as Kuhner asked.

Does one have a very expensive repair if one of those enclosed loops goes bad?

[Pfeil]

4 hours ago, Steve Moskowitz said:

I hope that is tongue and cheek as that simply never has happened nor never will.  No dealer service department likes working on stuff that is a pain or should be less complicated.  The number of times engineers and the factory are cursed in a service department is legendary.  I came right out of a service department when I went to work for Olds and one of the first things I wanted to see is how in the heck they came up with the flat rate times!  After 30 plus years of working at my store and attending meetings complaining about the lack of concern for replacement parts and servicing items I gave up.  Yes, in my day GM had service engineers who were suppose to look at things like that but it was always trumped by the designers, manufacturing engineers, and others.  The plight of the technician always has seemed as an after thought.  Neither myself in the day or any of my technicians at my dealership enjoyed doing a job that we knew was a pain in the backside and should have been simpler.  Engineers consult with the dealers...does not happen.

The manufacturer I worked for had a dedicated serviceability section of engineering to look at problems. As you probably know most if not all cars have a metal birdcage framework behind those pretty dash layouts. We were doing time studies on heater a/c components for flat rate manuals and engineering was having fits because of the time certain procedures were taking so they sent a serviceability engineer to look at the problem. We told him OK let's see if you can do this procedure any faster. After he finished which took about twice as long as the times we were getting I felt sorry for the guy because his arms were cut up all over and was bleeding pretty badly-even had scratches on his head. Not only are some of the components hard to get to, but all that metal framework is not de-burred.

     In order to look like a normal human being after finishing the job instead of someone who looked like he was mauled by a bear you not only have to know the product and it's systems, but you have to know how to carefully negotiate your way around in there as well. 

   FYI, our Campaigns and Recall division that I worked for didn't let incidents pile up to make investigations like some manufacturers do. Some take action because of the government, some take action due to an accident, and others only take action when they get to a certain number of incidents.

[28 Chrysler]

Not just the newer cars, The Datsun 240Z it;s about a 2 hr job if the rust is not to bad.

The wheel should come off for convenience, remove inner fender, remove headlight mounting assembly remove and replace sealed beam, then reassemble.

[Mike "Hubbie" Stearns]

I glad to see I’m not the only one that dislikes some of the newer vehicles. Mike

[3macboys]

It used to be that assembling a propane grill took an afternoon and half a case of beer, now it's about a 30 minute job.  Changing headlights used to be a 10 minute job and now they take an afternoon and half a case of bandages!

[Glen Andrews]

My last company car was a 2008 Chrysler 300, the third brake light stopped working so I figured it was a bulb and I would just replace the bulb; after about thirty minutes I figured out that the rear seat back and a side seat bolster had to come out so I decided it was going to the dealer.  A young hotshot "technician" told me he'd have it done in fifteen minutes to which I told him more like an hour at least; so an hour and a half later it was done, and the entire third brake light assembly had to be replaced since it was a sealed unit, at a list price of around $135 and an hour and a half labor which the entire bill as I remember was around $300; thank goodness it was a company car.

Unfortunately cars are not designed to be worked on, they are designed to be put together in the factory and get them out the door, and then those engineers are done. Then another group has to figure out how to do the repairs. With the work I have done on cars, as well as the rest of us that do repairs, I often thought that these engineers should be required to work in the field doing repairs for a minimum of two years before they can even start designing anything on a car.

[Frank DuVal]

I have taken many assemblies of that type (third brake light, license plate light) apart to change a bulb, even though the manufacturer never had that as a repair procedure. 😉 Of course I valued my time as a learning experience, at shop rate it would be cheaper to replace most of them.  😄